It’s all come down to this. All the effort, pain, and struggle from artists and bloggers alike culminates now as three writers’ crown the Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2009.

Aight, so I’m exagerrating a lil’ bit. And, admittedly, I’m lying through my teeth. We actually still have some more lists after this. But this is like the Rose Bowl – the grandaddy of ’em all!

I went kinda crazy with this one, because this type of ish excites me. It was an exceptional year for individual tracks, as we pulled songs from albums, mixtapes, CD singles, and even vinyl to present you with 3 separate lists of dopeness. These aren’t your averages lists, as you’ll see when you peruse them. We flipped it differently, I hope you’ll have fun while listening.

With my new blog this year, I’ve decided to do something different. I rounded up some talented bloggers and taste-makers for a segment I’m calling Writer’s Build. Our first mission? Tackle the Best Hip-Hop Album of 2009.

This year, although hip-hop was dominated by singles and mixtapes, there were some extremely dope albums if you made an effort to find them. The diverse selections we’ve compiled cover every end of the spectrum, from commercial releases to independent efforts. Each writer took it in a different direction, so I’m proud & excited to present the first annual Hold the Throne Presents Writers Build: The Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2009.

As usual, click the album covers or titles to support the artists that dropped quality material this year, Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Theviews & opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Hold the Throne. Except for Dom’s choices, of course.

In terms of my most anticipated album of the year, I was a little worried when I first heard “Kinda Like a Big Deal” but after a few listens it really grew on me and restored my hope. After your typical label BS/delays, the album finally delivered. With the best album intro since forever with “Freedom,” The Brothers Thornton struck a good balance with working with The Neptunes and other producers.

Definitely not better than Blueprint, but my favorite release of his since The Black Album. It irks me that people are looking for the “old” Hov on this, when its clear he is a different person with evolving tastes and views. “Already Home” is my favorite track on this album with a great hook featuring CuDi and great strings on the beat; just perfect.

This is one of my favorite Wu-Tang solo albums of all-time, thank God that it survived all the drama of getting it released. With Rae leaving Aftermath ,I was praying to the Wu-Gods that it wouldn’t be some low-budget album with throwaway beats, that would be a disgrace to the classic OG Linx album. All of the Wu cameos were on point, Rae even found Blue Raspberry (who I last heard on Apathy’s 05 album) to join him again. Makes me wonder of how many Rae x Dre gems are in that infamous Dre vault?

In terms of anticipated album for me, heck, I’ve been waiting for this for more than 2 years. I really liked Attention Deficit, some people said that it was cohesive enough or it lacked a vision.. do you not see the title? It captures Wale perfect as a person; watch some of his candid videos, or go to a concert of his, his mind is all over the place (in a good way). Who else can go from having Lady Gage to Dave Sitek?? To me personally, I feel like it was one Just Blaze banger away from being perfect.

Favorite album of the year to vibe to this year by far. With relatable song content, the melodies are perfect, the beats are great, and the the album’s story is very well executed. If you are looking for Cudder to bust some impressive technical abilites with his flow or something, this isn’t the album for you. The dude just makes songs that you want to listen to.

ML‘s favorite Canadian producer hooks up with Torae on a great effort to capture the great dynamic between one MC and one producer. Just a great consistent boom-bap sound with Torae’s sharp lyrics through out the entire thing. “Crash The Party” made me want to attend parties in Timberlands only.

A comeback, sorta, kinda, maybe? A few tracks off this album, not gonna lie, I really didn’t like. But tracks like “Beautiful” made me hopeful for future Eminem releases. Bonus cut “My Darling” didn’t really fit the album but was one of my favorites and very over-looked. C’mon son, can you really hate 20 tracks of Dre beats (looks like Em took a step back from producing this go-around)?

I’m probably the only person that but this album on any lists, any postion, but I gotta speak my piece on Maino. To me, his voice is the most genuine of any rapper that’s come out in years. He may not be the most adavanced rapper, but he can definitely write a song that is real and from his heart. If anything, Maino shows that when he works with a good producer like Just Blaze, Swizz, or J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, he can make a banger, though some of the other tracks it’s a hit or miss.

My favorite Southern album of the year, a well-executed swan-song for the legendary duo. They pulled it off without any guests or producers that outshine the duo. Nothing flashy on the album, just vintage UGK tales throughout. Pimp C would be proud. R.I.P. Pimp C.

If you tried to capture a rap battle royale on a CD, it would probably sound something like this. This album just has four dudes rapping their ass of non-stop. I found myself replaying songs numerous times because you always missing something in the rapid-fire raps. Based off this effort, give these guys a major budget and I know they are cabable of creating a classic.

Hate Rawseeee all you want, but your favorite rapper wishes he had his ear for beats as Deeper Than Rap probably had the production of the year. Yeah, the collabo’s carried Ricky on a few instances but overall the album was very enjoyable.

I can’t even recall the last great West Coast album with a MC/Producer team that was this good. Virtually no guests or singles disturb this G-Funk session. Now, if Kurupt could just get that Pete Rock collabo album out..

The only rapper that could do R&Bish type stuff without me itching to press the “skip” button (see Jadakiss – The Last Kiss). I mean, Ghost had me listeing to Lloyd AND a Cheetah girl on the same album? You know it must be good.

A while back,J Rocc played some snippets from the new Madvillain album on his radio show. I dunno why I held off so long on posting this, but I’m down with new Madlib & DOOM any day so deal with it.

I wish I had some more info on the second Madvillain album. All I know is that the duo is recording right now, I’m not even sure what the disc’s name will be. Madvillainy 2? I’ll definitely hook up the info when I see some news or updates.

I forgot where I spotted this, maybe Always Hustle I think? Well I upped a new link anyways, so shouts to my hard drive. Enjoy!